Queens, NY - Far Rockaway Copes With Sinkholes

Ruth Dina Ticona washes the mud from clothing damaged by Superstorm Sandy in the front yard of her home in the oceanside community of Far Rockaway, New York, on Thursday. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Queens, NY - Residents in Far Rockaway, Queens, are now coping with sinkholes in areas that seemed stable before Superstorm Sandy.

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The city’s Department of Environmental Protection has determined that the holes were caused by damage to private water and sewer lines. The DEP has been informing homeowners of the problem so they can arrange for repairs.

The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/UhQqpW ) says some of the sinkholes are in backyards. Others are in paved areas. One appears to have eroded the earth beneath part of a house’s foundation.

A former construction manager, Steve Major, says some of the holes are 10 feet deep. Major says he identified a dozen sinkholes in mid-November between Beach 67th and 68th streets.